A Few Simple Pleasures

In the hustle and bustle of life we tend to forget about the simple pleasures of life. It helps me to remember them every now and then.

• time with my wife
• experiencing God’s greatness in meeting new people
• experiencing God’s sense of humor in meeting new people
• a cup of Pike’s Blend coffee from St. Arbucks
• a good movie
• an even better book
• mint chocolate chip ice cream
• Charleston, SC
• Wild Wings (man I miss that joint)
• putt-putt
• running (as many miles as possible at one time)
• black and mild cigars
• House (the tv show)
• chats with my long lost college buddies
• winter time
• ray lamontagne

That will have to be all for now. Feel free to let me know some of your simple pleasure via comment.

Lord, please don’t let me get so caught up with life that I don’t take the time to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures that are there for my enjoyment.

Sometimes I Can’t Help Myself

Why are we as humans more likely to sacrifice the things that mean the most to us and strive for the things that should mean very little? Why do we choose to stay at the office instead of being home with our family? Why do we choose to knowingly do things our own way, when we know it is not in line with God’s will? I opened my bible this morning to a page that was marked by a scrap piece of paper, and strangely enough this is what I read…

13 Did that which is good, then, became death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good live in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is not longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7:14-25

Thank you Lord for the grace and hope that comes with knowing you!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I remember when you would call your buddies up and jokingly ask…”working hard or hardly working?” Now that I have a four and a half year career under my belt and a wife that works for the Department of Social Services, this five word question has taken on a whole new meaning! Is hard work extinct? Would all the self motivated folks please stand up!

People these days want you to show them exactly how to do everything. There is no more reading the instructions, trying it on your own and learning from your mistakes. And, if something does happen to go wrong it was because you didn’t train them well enough.

I mean, think about it! There is no need to go to the gym and actually work out; we now have 8 minute abs. There is no need to actually watch what you eat; we now have diet pills. There is no need to actually read the book; we have cliff notes. There is no need to actually get a job; we have the government. There is no need to rise above my circumstances; I am expected to fail, right?

Does it make anyone else mad that the true hard workers get rewarded with more work. And, that additional work normally comes from the people who don’t really give a crap. Now that’s motivation if I have seen it!

My wife, Jenn, has been working at DSS for about to years now. Her clients are the “hardly working” all star team. The State of Maryland pays for these people to do everything. If you are a drug addict and need classes, the state will pay. If you don’t have a car and need to visit your child, the state will pay to get you there. If you can’t afford a “home” because you refuse to get a job, there is always section 8 housing. Oh yeah, and by the way, when it comes to section 8 housing, the more money you actually make the more rent you pay. Now that is motivation at its finest!

Too many people these days are standing there with their hands out. If they would channel there drive to mooch into getting a career, would this world not be a better place? I think “we” are too quick to help people who aren’t willing to help themselves. In the famous words of a wise man I know…

Mooch with one hand and poop in the other, and see which one fills up the fastest!

Until next time…

Why the Long Face?

Is it just me, or is everyone mad? Everywhere I go it seems that everyone’s Cheerios have been peed on. I used to think it was something about being up north, but the more I travel around, the less I think that’s the case. Is misery a “drug” you can feign for? As of this moment, I am implementing what I like to call the “Get Out” rule! If your marriage sucks, and you hate each other then “Get Out.” (one really quick sidebar here - I think marriages take work. Love means nothing unless you act upon it. I am a proponent of communication, honesty and perseverance, but it doesn’t help to delay the inevitable) If you hate you job so much, why do you waste you time there? If it is really that bad and has adverse affects on your family, friends and co-workers then “Get Out.” If you have a group of friends that don’t build you up and hold you accountable then “Get Out.” If the church you go to does not enhance your relationship with Christ then “Get Out.” Listen, I get it! It is impossible to be happy all the time, but it’s worth a shot. To steal a little something from Adidas…

Through a relationship with an unlimited grace giving savior,  prayer, a loving family, & friends that really care about you…

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!!!

Until next time…

Politics & the Media

Now that I am up on my soapbox, let me have the mic. I watched bits and pieces of both conventions, and this is what I took away. Blah, blah, blah taxes, blah, blah, blah health care, blah blah blah war, blah blah blah education, blah blah blah Vietnam, blah blah blah economy. Who am I going to vote for you may ask? The lesser of the two evils would be my answer. Yeah, I know, you tell me who it is, and that’s who I will vote for. Exxon Mobil, and their $190 billion profit, is our president. I don’t want it to take $45 to fill my car up, I don’t want to be in the 50% tax bracket, I don’t want universal health care (I am fine with the plan I have), I don’t like the no child left behind act (just because you are 18 doesn’t mean that you automatically graduate high school), I don’t like paying for people who got into this country illegally’s education, I don’t like not knowing whether or not we are actually winning the wars that we are fighting, and I don’t like government telling what I can and can’t do. Until the candidates/government gets over themselves and actually starts doing the job they were nominated to do I will always be voting for the lesser of the two evils. It’s too bad that the decision is so damn hard!

A few minutes on the media…The media is in this game for one reason…to make money. There are no longer objective news outlets. If you want a liberal view, watch MSNBC, but if you want the conservative view, you watch Fox News. If you want the liberal view, you read the Baltimore Sun, but if you want the conservative view you simply don’t read the newspaper. Race will always be an issue, even after Obama is president. So I wish they would stop idolizing him as the “savior.” I know a lot of people who have pregnant teenagers. Why is it such a big deal that one of those people is the Vice Presidential candidate? Hey, here’s a money maker for you…John McCain vs. Barrack Obama…three rounds of fist to cuffs (no rules). Whoever wins is president. At least that way I know they earned it!

Until next time…